When Northcott ColorWorks Concepts fabrics arrived at once I started to think of ways to use
them in a project. I came up with a few ideas…a table runner…a tote bag…an apron…a
lap quilt. But I wanted to make something that I actually needed. It hit me when I was
looking at my cutting table. I need a bag big enough to carry my cutting mat when I go to
quilting classes and retreats. Do you also need a great way to get organized for your next
retreat? Then making a tote for your quilting tools is the solution.
Making a tote for your quilting tools
Now…how to make it?
The first thing I did was to gather all the
supplies I like to take along to quilting
retreats. A cutting board, rotary cutter,
rulers and other small tools. This gave me
an idea of what size the bag and pockets
would need to be. My cutting board
measures 24" x 18" so my bag is going to
measure 26" wide x 20" tall.
I’ve made large tote bags before, but
one of the things I don’t like about
them is that everything gets lost at the
bottom of the bag or lost in the pockets.
I recently made some tote bags with
vinyl pockets on the outside and I love
how you can see everything in them, so
I'll want to add some clear vinyl pockets
to my bag. I also want to make sure that
the cutting board stays flat when it’s
in the bag. An idea is starting to come
together...
Supply List
If you would like to follow along to make your own retreat bag, here's a list of
supplies you'll need:
•• 1 panel ColorWorks Concepts # 20813-99 (New York Beauty)
•• 30" ColorWorks Concepts # 20792-99 (flying geese)
•• 1yd ColorWorks # 9000-640 (teal)
•• 1yd ColorWorks Concepts # 20804-44 (rainbow diamonds)
•• 1yd ColorWorks Concepts # 20826-98 (black print)
•• 4" ColorWorks # 9000-71 (lime green)
•• 60" fusible heavyweight interfacing such as Fast 2 Fuse
•• 28" x 28" piece of medium weight clear vinyl
•• 1 - 15" long zipper
•• 60" of 1" woven black strapping
•• 4 - 1" rectangular rings
But to make this bag, I’m going to use
some notions I usually don’t use in
my quilting; things like hook and loop
tape, heavy fusible interfacing, woven
strapping, clear vinyl and rectangular
strap rings.
How to cut the fabric?
My stack of ColorWorks Concepts fabrics
looks SO inviting! I can’t wait to cut into
it, but what am I going to do with it?
To decide which layout to use and which
fabrics to use for each block, I find it
helpful, and playful, to lay the fabrics out
on my cutting board and previewing
what of the fabrics look like beside each
other and how they 'interact' together.
I fold the fabrics into long borders,
squares or triangles and lay them out to
see what I like best.
My stack of ColorWorks Concept fabrics
New York B eaut y Q u i lt i ng R etreat B ag
QUILTsocial
.com
| issue 6
48